Red Hat Delivers RHEL 6.3 Beta

April 30, 2012

By
Sean Michael Kerner

Last week, the Linux Planet celebrated the launch of Ubuntu 12.04, the Precise Pangolin. While the new Ubuntu release introduced both desktop and cloud based innovations, it wasn't the only active party on the Linux Planet.

1) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.3

Red Hat released the first beta for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.3 last week, providing a long list of updates and new features for enterprise Linux users.

Virtualization is the biggest winner in the RHEL 6.3 update. The new Virt-P2V tool lets users create virtual KVM images of physical RHEL systems. This is a much needed tool to help workload mobility and more specifically the use of KVM.

From a virtual security perspective, the RHEL 6.3 update provides compliance with PCI-DSS, by enabling virtual machine disks to be securely wiped.

The other key challenge for virtualization is always about scalability which is something that RHEL 6.3 also addresses. The new update enables enterprises to run up to 160 virtual CPUs up from only 64 in RHEL 6.2. As well KVM guests can now tap into as much as 2 TB of memory up from 512 GB in previous RHEL releases.

2) Xfce 4.10

While GNOME and KDE tend to dominate the Linux desktop deployment landscape, they aren't the only desktops.

This week Xfce 4.10 was released, providing an alternative for those seeking a lighterweight desktop experience. A key new addition in Xfce 4.10 is an improved application finder.

"It is now possible to launch applications and open files on the desktop with a single click of the mouse. In addition, the 4.10 desktop can display thumbnails and automatically advance through the wallpaper list."

The Xfce 4.10 release comes 16 months after the Xfce 4.8 was released.

3) Google Drive

Google finally launched their online storage service last week, though they left Linux users out in the cold. Instead of providing Linux users with the same opportunities as Windows users, Google's Linux support is lagging. This lack of support comes not long after Google decided to terminate support for Picassa on Linux.

The only official word from Google about Gdrive support is from staffer Teresa Wu who wrote: We're working on Linux support - hang tight!

Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.